Monday, April 18, 2011

APPLE PECAN CRUMB CAKE WITH GIANDUIA (CHOCOLATE/HAZELNUT) DRIZZLE

Apple/Pecan Crumb Cake with Gianduia Drizzle Gianduia (pronounced "jahn-DOOya") is the original of Nutella®, BTW.I haven't blogged dessert for some time, but last night we had an old friend visiting from Vancouver, which I thought was as good an excuse as any to make a dessert! But I didn't want it to be too rich, and I wanted it to be quick and easy, and made with whole grain flour(s). I decided that apples and pecans would be nice, and I also wanted to add just a little chocolate. I turned to the recipe in my book "The Fiber for Life Cookbook" for Rustic Rhubarb Cake and tweaked it once again. It was really moist and delicious, and a little more elegant than the original. Just a nice little touch of chocolate. (I think it would work with a gluten-free flour mix, too.) Our friend Brenda, not a vegan, just loved it and took some home with her. She had no idea that it was made from whole grain flour.

TOPPING:1/2 cupbrown sugar1/2 cup chopped pecansFINISH:about 1/2 cup Gianduia (chocolate/hazelnut spread)for drizzling (UPDATE: If you can't find a vegan and palm oil-free brand of this spread, there's an easy vegan recipe for this spread on my blog here and it's also on p. 65 of my book "World Vegan Feast".)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13" cake pan.Whisk together the Dry Mix ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in the apples. In a blender or with hand/immersion blender, blend the Wet Mix ingredients until smooth. Mix the Wet Mix into Dry Mix, stirring as briefly as possible. Spread into prepared pan. Mix the Topping ingredients together in a small bowl. Sprinkle the Topping evenly over the cake.

Bake 35 minutes. Test for doneness. Cool on a rack.Scoop the Gianduia (Chocolate/Hazelnut Spread) into a small heat-proof bowl. Place the bowl in a larger bowl and add very hot water to the outer bowl. Let it sit until the spread is a bit runny. Scrape the spread into a small food-safe squeeze bottle. Squeeze a thin line of chocolate spread in whatever way you like it, but not too much! Serve right out of the pan, cut into squares. Nutrition Facts Nutrition (per serving): 384.0 calories; 39% calories from fat; 16.9g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 13.8mg sodium; 182.0mg potassium; 56.0g carbohydrates; 4.8g fiber; 39.0g sugar; 51.2g net carbs; 3.9g protein; 8.3 points.

I transformed the cake recipe into kosher for Passover mode. My substitution guide suggested 5/8 cup matzah cake meal per cup of flour. I followed that guide and didn't change anything else. The result was a little on the sweet side for me, although guests loved it. It's still Passover, so I'm going to bake it again with less sugar. And I'm hoping to try the hazelnut-chocolate addition as well.I've pre-ordered the book and look forward to receiving it when it is released.

The cake remained pretty sweet even with reduced sugar, so we didn't feel the need for the hazelnut chocolate addition. People loved it spread on matzo. After Passover, I took the remaining and rolled it into little balls then rolled the balls in cocoa. I served these in tiny paper candy cups along with a vegan strawberry shortcake dessert. These little chocolate truffles were gone in about 2 minutes. Fortunately i still have a lot of hazelnuts and chocolate left.

i stumbled across your site whilst looking for healthy spins on dessert. i'm curious as to what the nutrtional facts are on this recipe. please! because i'm trying to lose weight and eat healthier and more fresh choices rather than canned/boxed expires-in-3-years type of foods. which is why i LOVE your site!!! if you're not sure of the facts, an approx. calorie and fat total would be nice. :) THANKS!!!

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